Cold storage cabinet



Sept. 30, 1 941. E. M. Fm:

' cow STORAGE CABINET Filed Aug. 30, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Spt 30, 1941E. M. FRITZ I 2,257,374

COLD STORAGE CABINET Filed Aug. 50, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Q0EowAmMHe/Tz .b 5

Patented Sept. 30,1941,

UNITED STAT as mes-r o Flcs Conn s'roaaca' caama'r Edward M. Fritz,

Grand Rapids, Mich, aasignor to Grand Rapids Cabinet Company, 'GrandRapids, Micla, a corporation of Michigan Application August so, 1939,Serial No, 292,601

Claims. (Cl. 62- 116) The present invention relates in general torefrigerated cabinets for the storage offoods and the like, and isparticularlyconcerned with improved mounting means therein for amechanical refrigerating unit. g

In the past, such cabinets have been constructed with a separatecompartment for housing the mechanical refrigerating unit, and while ithas been the practice to provide a removable panel in the cabinet walladmitting of access to therefrigerating unit compartment, this panel hasnot been so located as to enable convenient access to the unitcompartment, particularly in cases where the installation requiresthatthe end of the cabinet containing the unit be placed against a wall orother obstruction.

Moreover, due to the fact that the refrigerating unit compartment isnecessarily made no larger than necessary to accommodate the unit,

there isinsumcient clearance around the unit 7 to permit its beinginspected and serviced freely while within its compartment. Where an opeing in the end of the cabinet is not accessible it may be necessary'todisconnect the unit' from the cabinet and remove holding down bolts orother means utilized to secure the unit in its -compartment, before itcan be removed to the exterior of the compartment where its variousparts may be readily accessible. Such procedure in. the arrangements aspresently constructed has been very inconvenient and has entailed theexpenditure of considerable time and labor.

" With the foregoing aswell as other objections to the present mountingarrangement, the here- .indescribed invention contemplates improvedmounting means in the cabinet for the refrigerating unit, which willenable its being easily, removed for inspection and service; which thefeatures of the present invention and showing themechanicalref'rigerating unit partially withdrawn from its compartment;

Figure 2 is an enlargedfragmentary view of v the cabinet, including avertical section taken through the refrigerating unit compartment;

Figure 3 is a similar view except that the section through therefrigerating unitcompartment is taken horizontally;

Figure 4 isan enlarged fragmentary view,

' partly in section, showing details of the mounting for therefrigerating unit, taken substantially on line IVIV of Figure 2; and Iv Figure 5 is a sectional view,taken substantially on line V-V of Figure3.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is I illustrated a coldstorage cabinet, generally indicated at lt, such as utilized for thestorage of foods, ice cream, etc., this cabinet being fitted vwithsuitable closure members il in its top surface for providing admittanceto the interior of the cabinet for the placing of foods therein orremoving them. a i

The walls of the. cabinet are insulated in the usual manner and maycontain a series of pipes,

as indicated in dotted lines by the numeral l2, which may constitute theevaporator of a cooling embodies improved means for connecting theunitto thecooling coil parts in the cabinet and enables removal of theunitwith substantially little or no loss of refrigerating medium.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel locking means forsecuring the unit and its mounting against movements during ship-' meat,but which may easily be unlocked to release the unit for removal fromits compartment, whenever desired.

entrance by a suitable plate or panel II.

system. The evaporator, as is the usual practice, may be connected witha suitable expansion and control valve 13 which may be mounted in a wellor compartment it in the cabinet wall, this com-" partment beingpreferably disposed in the rear wall of the cabinet and normally closedby a plate I8. At one end of the cabinet, there is provided acompartment It for the mechanical refrigerant-- ing unit of the cabinet,this compartment having its entrance in the rear wall of the cabinet.This compartment need not be insulated relative to the exterior, and maybe normally closed at its Although the invention may. be utilized withvarious types of refrigerating units, it has been Other objects andfeatures of the invention will more fully appear from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate the preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view-looking at the rear sideof a refrigeratedcabinet embodying shown in the present instance as being utilized witha. mechanical refrigerating unit of the compressor-condenser-evaporatortype.

- As shown in Figures 2 and- 3, the-unit in general comprises a drivingmotor I! which is connected to a compressor l9, this compressor bjeingarranged to supply refrigerant to a condenser 20 which is in turnconnected with a' suitable receiver II. .The various .parts of the unitare supported on a base plate 22 which may be constructed ofcomparatively light metal and have pipe 25 to the valve 13. This pipe,as is the usual practice, is arranged to conduct the refrigeratingmedium to the evaporator portion of the system, which, in the particulartype of system being described, will conduct the refrigerant while in aliquid state.

bar 33, and at the forward end of the unit to a transverse connectingbar 34. 7.

At the bottom of the unit compartment is a stationary frame structure,which may be formed as a part of the cabinet frame work. In

the present instance, this frame structure includes a pair of channeimembers 35-35 which are disposed to extend longitudinally of the unitcompartment and are spaced apart to coincide 10 with the spacing of thegroove forming mem- The pipe 25 is of relatively small construction,

namely, one-fourth inch in diameter, and is therefore inherentlyflexible. By making the, pipe connection 25 sufficiently long, therefrigerating unit may be removed from its compartment without having todisconnect the pipe either at the valve l3 or where it is' connectedtothe receiver.

The suction side of the compressor I9 is connected through a pipe 26 oflarger diameter, namely one-half inch, and is covered with some materialsuch as rubber. Due to this pipe being bers 32-32. At their outermostends, these channels 35 are connected with a transversely extendingchannel member 36 to form a rigid construction.

Extending along the upper surfaces of each of the channel members 35 isa. track member 31 having laterally deflected wing portions 38 forinterlocking sliding engagement with the peripheral margins of theadjacent groove forming members 32, the peripheral margins of thismember being preferably bent back upon themselves to extend over thewing portions 3M8 of. the track members and provide a' slidingconnection therewith. With this arrangement,

less flexible, due to its larger size, provision is t Will be noted thatthe groove forming made for disconnecting it at the valve l3 byproviding a suitable coupling 21. Since the pipe 26, in the particulartype of system being described, is on the low side and forms a suctionline for the return of the refrigerating medium in a has cannot beremoved from the associated track members by an upward or lateralmovement thereof. On the other .hand, the groove formingmembers andtheir connected'parts may be slid along the track members, thus enablinggaseous state to the compressor, suitable cut-oif valves 28-and 29amprovided at the valve II and compressor IS, respectively, for isolatingthe pipe 26 with reference to the system.

It will therefore be apparent with this ar- 'rangement that,.when thevalves 28 land- 29 are closed, the pipe may be disconnected by means ofthe coupling 21 from the valve 18, thus en'- abling (withdrawal of therefrigerating unit. Moreover, since the refrigerant is in a gaseousstate and the pipe 26, when cut off by the valves,

would contain an inappreciable amount of refrigerating medium so thatlittle or none of the refrigerating medium would be wasted.

Where the refrigeration capacity-needed permits of the use of a suctionline of smaller size and greater flexibility or of flexible tubing, thecut-off valves may be dispensed with and the unit may be pulled out forinspection while operating.

The entrance to the unit compartment is placed at the rear wall of thecabinet in order that admittance tothe unit'cabinet may be effected,even though in a particular cabinet inthe unit by sliding movement to bewithdrawn from its cabinet whenever it is desired or service therefrigerating unit.

. During shipment of the cabinet with the unit mounted therein, it is ofcourse .desirable to not only anchor the base plate 22 against becomingdisplaced from the resilient supporting members 24, but also it isdesirable to provide means to inspect to prevent sliding movement of theunit on the track members 31.

In the present instance there is provided a locking stud or bolt 29having a threaded shank portion 40 and an elongate head portion II whichis preferably at polygonal construction for receiving a suitable wrenchor tool. cThis locking stud is arranged to be inserted endwisestallation 'the cabinet end wall may be placed in abutting relation witha wall or other structure.

The details of the unit mounting, which permit easy withdrawal of theunit. from its compartment forinspection'and servicing will nowbedescribed. V

The resilient supports 24 are constructed of a material such as rubber.These supports are cup-shaped and are disposed with their open endsuppermost; eachcup being retained by an anchor screw 30 which ispreferably disposed i,

with its head abutting. a washer 3t disposed within the cup member. a

In the present instance-"four resilient supporting members 24 areprovided, and these supporting membersare disposed at the respectivecorners ofthe base plate 22. The screws 30 may also be utilized forsecuring a pair of groove forming 32,32 in spaced relation and connected'at the inner end of the unit to'a transverse connecting through anopening 42 in the base plate 22 and.

have its threaded shank screwed into an aligned threaded aperture 43 inthe transversely extending bar 34. Below the opening it is an aperture Min the member 36, which will be in alignment withand receive thereinthe'end of the threaded shank portion 40, when the unit is in positionin its compartment'and the stud 39 is screwed downwardly until its headportion abuts the upper surface of member 34'. This will lock the trackand sliding movement. I,

For retaining the base plate against movegroove members against mentfrom the resilient supporting members, the

head portion ll of the locking stud is internally threaded at its upperend for receiving a bolt 25 which may cooperate with a washer 46 forse-" curing a'resilient washer 41 of a material such as longitudinallyextending members rubber. against. the upper surface of the base plate22. Thus, the base plate will be resiliently retained against removalfrom the resilient supi porting members 24'.

Access td'the head ll of the. locking stud may be facilitated byproviding an opening as shown at 48 in the member 84, this opening beingsuf-' .flciently large to enable the insertion of a wrench or tooltherethrough for engagement with the head ll of the locking stud.

The locking stud is particularly useful for some preventing movements ofthe refrigerating unit when the cabinet is being shipped. and it will beapparent that by removal of the, locking stud, the unit will be releasedso that it may be easily removed from its compartment whenever it isdesired to inspect or service the same, and

that the only prerequisite to such removal is the closing of the valves1! and ll and the disconnection of the coupling 21;

From the foregoing description, itwill be apparent that the presentinvention provides in a cooling cabinet improved mounting means for arefrigerating unit, which will enablethe units being easily removed forinspection and service; which embodies improvedt means for connectingthe unit to the cooling coil parts in the cabinet and enables removal ofthe unit with substantially little -or no loss of refrigerating medium;and which includes novel locking means for securing the unit and itsmounting against movement during shipment, but which may easilybeunlocked to release the unit for removal from its compartment, wheneverdesired.

Now. it is. of course, to be understood that although I havesdescribedin detailthe preferred embodiment of my invention, the invention ishaving a pluone of said compartments, cooling means in,

another of said compartments, a pressure cannection including anexpansion valve and a suction connection betwen said unit and saidcooling means for a refrigerating medium, said pressure connection beingflexible and of sub iicent length in the said one of said compartmentsto enable removal of the unit fromits compartment without its beingdisconnected, a

movably supported base for said unit enabling withdrawal of the unitfrom its compartment, and cut-0t! valves withinsaid one compartment forisolating a portion of. the suction connection of rails slidinglyassociated with said grooves and respectively interlocked againstlateral removal therefrom, resilient members carried by the grooveforming members. and a unit base plate supported on said resilientmembers in spaced relation to said-groove members.

8. A refrigerating unit mounting comprising a pair of spaced grooveforming members, a pair of rails slidinglyassociated with said groovesand respectively interlocked against lateral removal therefrom,resilient members carried by the groove forming members, a unit baseplate supported on said resilient. members in spaced relationto saidgroove members, and means for locking the rail andmroove members againstsliding movements. l

4. In an apparatus for removably mounting. a

'refrigerating'unit in a cabinet compartment having an access 0 therein,a member extending into said compartment and constituting a fixed partof the cabinet structure, said member having an aperture therein/1|.frame structure supported for sliding movements into. andout of saidcompartment through said opening. re-

silient pads carried by the frame structure. a

base plate-having the refrigerating unit secured thereto,- said platebeing arranged to removably rest on said pads, a stud member carried bythe irame structure and mounted for selective move- 'ments into and outof said aperture, and means associated with said stud for selectivelysecuring the base plate against removal frOm the resilient pads andreleasing the base plate for free vibratory movements on the pads orremoval therefrom.

5. Means for removably mounting a refrigerating unit in a cabinetcompartment having an access opening therein comprising track membersextending into the compartment, laterally extending downwardly turnedflanges on said track members, means carrying afrefrigerating therein,whereby it may be disconnected with a- I minimum loss of refrigeratin 2.A refrigerating'unit mounting-comprising a'pairofspacedgrooveformingmembers,apair uhit slidably' mounted on saidtrack members, and means associated with said last mentioned meansengaged around the edges of saidflanges foi' normally preventingsubstantial displacement Tof said unit carrying means in a lateralor'upward direction; s

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